People revere the Constitution yet know so little about it—and that goes for some of my fellow senators.

No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send against him except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

What experience and history teach is this—that nations and governments have never learned anything from history or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it.

My people and I have come to an agreement that satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.

I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.

The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure it is right.

Every communist must grasp the truth: “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”

I say violence is necessary. It is as American as cherry pie.

I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!

A real leader is somebody who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own.

Let him who desires peace prepare for war.